Program
Degrees
Boston
University
http://bioinfo.bu.
edu/
MS, PhD
Carnegie Mellon
http://www.cmu.
edu/mcs/Merck/
BS, MS,
PhD
Entrance
Requirements
Intro to C, Intro to
Probability and/or
Statistics, Intro to
Algorithms,
Knowledge of
PERL, Cell
Biology, Physical
Chemistry, and
Biochemistry
Degree
Requirements
MS requires 32
credits and an
industrial
internship (2-3
years). PhD
requires 64 credits
and a
collaborative
research project
(4-5 years).
Host Department
Courses & Research
Bioinformatics
Research areas include:
computational,
physical/biochem,
molecular/cell bio, other
Apply to Biology,
Computer
Science,
Chemistry, or
Biomedical
Engineering
(follow their
entrance
requirements)
Computational
biology and
chemistry
program. No
curriculum details
provided.
Participating
departments:
computer
science, biology,
chemistry,
biomedical
engineering.
Students apply
to one of these
departments.
Students can
also apply for a
degree in
computational
biology from the
biology
department:
http://www.bio.c
mu.edu/Program
s/Masters/
Funding: exernal
& student
No funding for
MS students.
research:
http://bioinfo.bu.edu/resea
rch/index.shtml
No research list, but this
is the faculty page:
http://www.cmu.edu/mcs/
Merck/MerckFaculty.html
Program funded
by the Merck
company
Merck graduate
fellowships are
available
Other info
They have a
Center for
Advanced
Genomic
Technology
(CAGT)
Program
Degrees
George Mason
School of
Computational
Studies
http://www.scspw.gmu.edu/aca
demics/bioinfor
matics/
MS – 18
months
PhD – 4-5
years
Entrance
Requirements
BA or BS in a
relevant field and
undergraduate
courses in the
following areas:
molecular biology,
cell biology,
biochemistry,
genetics,
differential
equations;
experience with a
high-level
programming
language (C/C++,
Java, etc.) and a
course in data
structures; and a
course in
probability and
statistics.
Degree
Requirements
twelve credit
hours of
fundamental
biosciences
requirements
provide a common
bond between the
Bioinformatics
Ph.D. and the
Bioscience Ph.D.
sixteen credit
hours of core
bioinformatic
requirements
provide the
scientific
background for
the discipline
a minimum of
twenty hours of
electives or
independent
research allow the
student to
specialize into an
area of
bioinformatics
a minimum of
twenty-four credit
hours of
dissertation
research.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Biology
department
offers MS and
PhD in
Bioinformatics.
PhD
administered
through Center
for
Bioinformatics
and
Computational
Biology,
w/participation
from biology,
biomedical
engineering,
computing,
chemistry &
biochemistry,
mathematics,
and physics
departments
http://www.scspw.gmu.edu/academics/bi
oinformatics/descriptions.
html
http://www.scspw.gmu.edu/research/
Funding: exernal
& student
Other info
Program
Degrees
Iowa State
Bioinformatics
& Computational
Biology
http://www.bcb.i
astate.edu/
PhD and
MS options
Arizona State
http://math.la.asu
.edu/~sloan/inde
x.html
Master’s
degree only
offered
Entrance
Requirements
A four-year
university degree
is required.
Successful
applicants
typically have an
undergraduate
degree in
molecular biology,
computer science,
mathematics,
statistics, physics
or a closely related
discipline. Strong
computational,
mathematical or
statistical training
is desirable.
Degree
Requirements
PhD: 72 credit
hours; core
courses; other
coursework;
research rotations;
bioethics training;
thesis.
One-year
sequences in
general chemistry
and biology, one
semester of
organic chemistry,
one semester each
of calculus and
differential
equations, a
course in data
structures and
analysis of
algorithms, and a
course with a
substantial
programming
component.
30 credit hours, an
internship, and a
“professional”
option for 6
additional credit
hours
MS: 30 credit
hours; same
requirements as
for PhD but with
fewer credit hours
and no
dissertation.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Participating
departments
include animal
science, botany,
chemical
engineering,
computer
science,
electrical &
computer
engineering,
math, physics &
astronomy, plant
pathology,
statistics,
veterinary
microbiology,
zoology &
genetics
Computational
biosciences
program with a
focus in
bioinformatics
and genomics
available
Focus of program is
computational molecular
biology; bioinformatics
focus/research area
http://www.bcb.iastate.ed
u/courses/BCBcourses.ht
ml
http://math.la.asu.edu/~sl
oan/document/interim.ht
ml
Funding: exernal
& student
Awarded a $3
million training
grant from NSF
Other info
developed with a
grant from the
Alfred p. sloan
foundation
New degree as
of fall 2002
Program
Degrees
Entrance
Requirements
Harvard and
MIT
Bioinformatics
and Integrated
Genomics
http://big.chip.or
g/
Doctoral
option only;
most
students
complete
coursework
in 3 years
Introductory
background in
informatics/co
mputer science
and biology
Degree
Requirements
3 courses out of a
Quantitative
Foundations Core
(Probability
theory, Computer
Science,
Biostatistics,
Bioinformatics,
Genomics)
An intensive
month-long course
on experimental
methods of
molecular biology
and genomics.
The MEMP Life
Sciences Core
Molecular and
Cellular Medicine
Track
A course on ethics
in biomedical
research
A seminar series
held every other
week.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Administered
through the
Harvard/MIT
division of
Health Sciences
and
Technology’s
medical
engineering and
medical physics
program
http://big.chip.org/curricul
um.html
Funding: exernal
& student
Funded through
grant from
Human Genome
Research
Institute
Other info
Program
Degrees
Indiana
University
School of
Informatics
http://www.infor
matics.indiana.ed
u/
MS in
Bioinformat
ics offered,
also BS and
PhD minor
Medical College
of Wisconsin
bioinformatics
graduate
program
http://www.brc.
mcw.edu/ap/
Offers
masters
degree only
Entrance
Requirements
Introductory
background in
informatics/compu
ter science and
biology
Degree
Requirements
36 credit hours
plus thesis
required for MS;
PhD minor
requires 12
credits.
Apply through
Marquette
graduate school to
program of choice
Either 24 credit
hours, plus a 6credit thesis, or 36
credit hours.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Colleagues from
dept. of
computer and
information
science, dept of
biochemistry
and molecular
biology, and
dept of biology,
on several IU
campuses
Informatics and
biosciences
faculty share
teaching duties
Departments
included:
Mathematics,
Statistics and
Computer
Science;
Electrical and
Computer
Engineering;
Biology; and
Biomedical
Engineering at
Marquette
University with
the
bioinformatic
and biomedical
research
conducted at the
Medical College
of Wisconsin
http://www.informatics.in
diana.edu/courses/descript
ions.asp
http://www.informatics.in
diana.edu/research/
http://www.brc.mcw.edu/
ap/courses/
Funding: exernal
& student
Funded by Eli
Lilly and
company
Other info
Program
Degrees
NC State
statistical
genetics &
bioinformatics
http://bioinforma
tics.ncsu.edu/
Offers PhD
and MS in
bioinformati
cs
Northern Illinois
University
http://www.bios.
niu.edu/bioinfor
matics/
Bioinformat
ics
specializatio
n&
certification
at a master’s
level. You
can get a
biology PhD
w/a
bioinformati
cs focus
Offers BS,
master’s and
PhD
Renneselear
bioinformatics
and molecular
biology
http://www.bioin
fo.rpi.edu/
Entrance
Requirements
Requirements:
basic statistics and
genetics,
knowledge of
multivariate
calculus and linear
algebra,
knowledge of a
programming
language
BIOS 300, Cell
Biology and BIOS
308, Genetics
CSCI 240,
Computer
Programming in
C; and CSCI 241,
Intermediate
Programming in C
and C++
Apply to the RPI
Biology
department
Degree
Requirements
PhD requires a
minimum of 72
credit hours (15
hours in Genomic
Science and 57 in
Bioinformatics).
MS requires a
minimum of 33
credit hours (15
hours in Genomic
Science and 18 in
Bioinformatics).
Specialization: 30
credit hours.
Certificate: 16-17
credit hours.
Although courses
are listed, no
graduation
requirements are
available.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Program in
genomic science
http://bioinformatics.ncsu.
edu/statgen/degr_courses.
html
No actual degree
program, but
you do have to
apply for either
certification or
specialization
Administered by
the Dept. of
Biological
Sciences
http://www.bios.niu.edu/b
ioinformatics/bicourses.ht
ml
Administered
out of
RensselaerWadsworth
Center for
Bioinformatics
(CB), but
students must
apply to the RPI
biology
department
http://www.bioinfo.rpi.ed
u/education/
Funding: exernal
& student
Offers thesis,
travel, and block
grants to phd
students
http://biolinx.bios.niu.edu
/functions.htm
IBM is a partner
in this program
Other info
Housed in the
Bioinformatics
Research
Center (BRC)
Program
Degrees
University of
Washington
bioinformatics
program
http://www.infor
matics.washingto
n.edu/
Offer MS
and hope to
begin to
offer the
PhD soon
Entrance
Requirements
College-level
mathematics,
computer
programming, and
biology courses;
undergraduate
GPA of 3.0 or
above.
Degree
Requirements
MS requires 60
credits, Final
Examination, and
Thesis/Project.
Host Department
Courses & Research
The Biomedical
and Health
Informatics
Graduate
Program is an
interdisciplinary
program across
seven schools
and colleges of
the University of
Washington:
School of
Dentistry,
College of
Engineering,
Information
School, School
of Medicine,
School of
Nursing, School
of Pharmacy and
the School of
Public Health
and Community
Medicine. The
academic home
of the BHI
Graduate
Program is in the
Department of
Medical
Education and
Biomedical
Informatics
(MEBI) in the
School of
Medicine.
http://www.informatics.w
ashington.edu/dw/courseli
st.html
http://www.informatics.w
ashington.edu/dw/projects
.html
Funding: exernal
& student
Funded by a
grant from the
University
initiatives fund
Other info
Program
Degrees
Entrance
Requirements
Summarize
background in
medicine and
computer science;
admissions
committee will
determine if
prerequisites are
required.
Degree
Requirements
MS requires 44
credits and
Research
Project/Thesis.
PhD requires 71
credits,
comprehensive
exam, and
dissertation.
Pittsburgh
University
http://www.cbmi
.upmc.edu/traini
ng_program/desc
ription.htm
Offers MS,
PhD, and
postdoctoral
fellowships
Stanford
bioinformatics
certificate
program
http://scpd.stanfo
rd.edu/scpd/prog
rams/certs/bioinf
ormatics.htm
Certificate
program
only
Aimed towards
working
professionals.
Three graduate
courses on
computing in
biology, with an
emphasis on
molecular biology.
University of
California, Irvine
http://www.ics.u
ci.edu/~biomed/
PhD and
MS in
Information
& Computer
Science,
with
bioinformati
cs
concentratio
n
Requirements for
entering the
Information &
Computer Science
program.
Three core
courses, plus at
last 6 additional
courses, and
courses to satisfy a
breadth
requirement.
Paper required for
phd but not ms.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Interdisciplinary
degree program
that draws on
several
departments, but
especially the
Center for
Biomedical
Informatics
(CBMI) and
School of
Information
Studies (SIS)
Offered through
the Stanford
Center for
Professional
Development, a
distancelearning
initiative for
industry
professionals
http://www.cbmi.upmc.ed
u/training_program/descri
ption.htm (click on
courses link for pdf)
Specialization in
the Information
and Computer
Science
department
(http://www.ics.
uci.edu)
Funding: exernal
& student
Other info
http://www.cbmi.upmc.ed
u/training_program/resear
ch_training_areas.htm
- Computational
Molecular Biology
(BIOC218), 3 units
- Protein and Nucleic
Acid Structure,
Dynamics, and
Engineering(Structural
Biology 228), 3 units
- Representations and
Algorithms for
Computational Molecular
Biology (BMI214),
Spring, 4 units
Courses:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~b
iomed/#courses
research areas:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~b
iomed/#research
Topics range
from sequence,
structure and
function
analysis to the
context of
algorithms,
databases and
visualization.
Program
Degrees
UCLA
http://www.bioin
formatics.ucla.ed
u/
Undergradu
ate, MS,
PhD
UCSD
Interdisciplinary
Bioinformatics
program
http://bioinforma
tics.ucsd.edu/
PhD
specializatio
n
UCSF Biological
& medical
informatics
http://www.mis.u
csf.edu/
PhD, MS
Entrance
Requirements
Students should
have an
interdisciplinary
undergraduate
background, e.g.
Computer Science
major + math
minor; Biology
major + Computer
Science minor;
etc.
Students must take
bio & medical
informatics core
courses, plus do at
least one
informatics
rotation
Degree
Requirements
Get PhD or MS in
major field,
complete
bioinformatics
core plus
additional “minor
subject” courses.
Undergraduate
degree majoring in
any of the
disciplines in
biological science,
physical science,
computer science,
mathematics, or
engineering with a
strong background
in quantitative
sciences and
biology.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Math / Statistics;
Computer
Science;
Biological
Sciences
Courses core:
http://www.bioinformatic
s.ucla.edu/program/progra
m_core.htm
optional courses:
http://www.bioinformatic
s.ucla.edu/program/progra
m_comp_bio.htm#graduat
e
Bioengineering,
biology,
biomedical
sciences,
chemistry,
biochemistry,
computer
science &
engineering,
math, physics
Courses:
http://bioinformatics.ucsd.
edu/students/courses.cfm
Formally
associated with
program in
quantitative
biology, also
affiliated with
the
Bioengineering
Graduate Group
Courses:
http://www.mis.ucsf.edu/c
ourse-descrip.html
research:
http://bioinformatics.ucsd.
edu/students/research.htm
Funding: exernal
& student
NSF-IGERT
fellowships
available to PhD
and
undergraduate
students
Other info
All graduate
students funded
by department,
university,
outside grants,
and/or
assistantships
Fields of
emphasis:
Biological
Data &
Analysis
Tools,
Sequence
Analysis,
Genomic
Analysis,
Statistical
Methods for
Bioinformatics
PhD students
funded, MS
students not
funded
Program
Degrees
Northeastern
http://www.bioin
formatics.neu.ed
u/
MS
Georgia Tech
http://www.biolo
gy.gatech.edu/bi
oinform.html
MS in
bioinformati
cs; PhD in
computation
al bio &
bioinformati
cs
Entrance
Requirements
Applicants to the
MS Program must
have earned a
baccalaureate
degree in a
biological science,
chemistry,
computer science,
pharmacy,
engineering,
nursing, or other
related discipline
from an accredited
college or
university.
Sufficient
background in
science.
University of
Memphis
http://www.msci.
memphis.edu/~gi
ri/bio.html
N/A:
concentratio
n with CS
Master’s
degree
Need masters or
PhD in biological
sciences
University of
Minnesota
http://www.binf.
umn.edu/
Graduate
minor for
Biology or
Computer
Science
students,
either PhD
or MS
Apply to
Department of
Biology or
Computer Science
Degree
Requirements
All fundamental &
core courses, at
least one elective,
industrial
internship
Host Department
Courses & Research
Joint program
with BU; they
seem to have a
lot of the same
courses and
requirements
Courses:
http://www.bioinformatic
s.neu.edu/courses.html
MS: 3 semesters,
37 hours
Apply to
program through
School of
Biology
Courses:
http://www.biology.gatec
h.edu/bioinformatics/admi
ssion_and_cur.html
Apply to
program through
CS department
phd courses:
http://www.biology.gatec
h.edu/bioinformatics/bioi
nformatics_phd.htm
Courses:
http://www.msci.memphis
.edu/~giri/bio.html
Biology,
Computer
Science
Core coursework:
http://www.binf.umn.edu/
courses.html
Master’s thesis
required; 30 credit
hours for those
with a PhD, 33
credit hours for
other applicants
MS: 3 core
courses
PhD: 5 core
courses
Funding: exernal
& student
No financial aid
available.
Other info
Financial aid for
phd students
only.
Has GA Tech
Center for
Computational
Biology &
Bioinformatics
:http://www.bi
ology.gatech.e
du/gt_bioinfo/
about.html
Program
Degrees
Entrance
Requirements
BS or BA in a life
science, Computer
Science, or
Chemistry
Degree
Requirements
Required courses,
electives, and a
two-semester
independent
project.
Host Department
Courses & Research
University of the
Sciences in
Philadelphia
http://www.usip.
edu/graduate/bioi
nformatics.html
VA Tech
Graduate Option
in bioinformatics
http://graduate.bi
oinformatics.vt.e
du/
BS and MS
in
bioinformati
cs
Bioinformatics
Courses:
http://www.usip.edu/grad
uate/bioinformatics.html
MS, PhD
Official approval
of the option is
still pending so
this has not yet
been outlined.
Official approval
of the option is
still pending so
this has not yet
been outlined.
Courses:
http://graduate.bioinforma
tics.vt.edu/programs.html
Rice University
http://www.cs.ric
e.edu/Database/b
ioinfo.shtml
MS in
Computer
Science Bioinformat
ics
Background in
computer science,
chemistry,
biology, and math
6 computer
science courses, 2
statistics courses,
5 biology courses
This is a degree
option for
people in these
depts.:
Biochem,
biology, CS,
crop & soil
environmental
science,
genetics, plant
pathology,
statistics
CS department
with
bioinformatics
concentration
University of
North Carolina –
Chapel Hill
http://bioinfo.unc
.edu/
PhD
certificate of
specializatio
n
Formal
coursework in
computer science
including
programming,
algorithms and
data structures;
biochemistry,
cellular biology,
or genetics; and
statistics.
Core curriculum,
plus six additional
courses;
successful
completion of
examinations.
Twenty-two
participating
departments
including the
School of
Information and
Library Science;
hosted by
Genome
Sciences Center.
Courses:
http://bioinfo.unc.edu/
Courses:
http://www.cs.rice.edu/Da
tabase/bioinfo.shtml
Funding: exernal
& student
Other info
None for MS
students
Department
also offers
PhD, MS
degrees – but
w/o
concentration
Program
Degrees
Vanderbilt
University
http://www.mc.v
anderbilt.edu/db
mi/bmigradprog/
program.html
MS in
biomedical
informatics;
PhD can add
2
bioinformati
cs
concentratio
n options:
Bioinformat
ics for
Molecular
Medicine or
Clinical
Bioinformat
ics
Entrance
Requirements
Computer
Programming,
Design and
Analysis of
Algorithms and
Data Structures
(e.g., CS 250, or
CS201), Networks
(e.g., CS 283)
Degree
Requirements
MS requires 27
credit hours and a
thesis. PhD
concentration
requires core
courses, plus at
least 2 elective
courses and a
reading list on 3
areas of
concentration.
Host Department
Courses & Research
Biomedical
informatics
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.
edu/dbmi/bmigradprog/pr
ogram.html
Funding: exernal
& student
Other info